Air Force Reserve colonel facing child rape charge

An Air Force Reserve colonel faces court-martial on a charge that he raped a young girl, the Judge Advocate General announced.

The trial of Col. Douglas James of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is scheduled for October.

According to documents from the JAG's office, the alleged victim was between the ages of 12 and 16. The alleged incident is reported to have taken place in December 2009 near Orange County, California, according to the charge sheets provided to Air Force Times.

A spokesman for Pacific Air Forces said James and his defense counsel declined to comment on the pending case.

James joined the military in 1985 through an Air Force ROTC program at Brigham Young University, according to an Air Force biography. He served as an A-10 and F-15 pilot, before transferring to the Pentagon to manage several aircraft programs including the A-10 and F-117. The colonel spent four years as deputy director of the Coalition Command Center for U.S. Central Command.

He joined the Air Force Reserves in 2001 and was currently assigned to the PACAF Air and Space Division.